Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jun;80(6):1556-1563.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2018.08.014. Epub 2018 Aug 29.

Stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with psoriasis among laypersons and medical students

Rebecca L Pearl  1 , Marilyn T Wan  2 , Junko Takeshita  3 , Joel M Gelfand  3
Affiliations

Stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with psoriasis among laypersons and medical students

Rebecca L Pearl et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Perceived stigma among patients with psoriasis contributes to poor quality of life.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and predictors of stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with psoriasis among laypersons and medical trainees.

Methods: Laypersons were recruited from Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) (n = 198). Additionally, 187 medical students were recruited via e-mail. Participants completed an online survey in which they viewed images of persons with visible psoriasis. Participants reported their desire to socially avoid the persons in the images, their emotional responses to the persons in the images, and their endorsement of psoriasis-related stereotypes and myths.

Results: MTurk participants endorsed social avoidance items such as not wanting to shake hands with (39.4%) or have the persons in the images in their home (32.3%). Participants stereotyped persons with psoriasis as contagious (27.3%) and endorsed the myth that psoriasis is not a serious disease (26.8%). Linear regression analyses showed that having heard of or knowing someone with psoriasis predicted fewer stigmatizing attitudes (P < .05). The medical students reported less stigmatizing attitudes than the MTurk participants (P < .01).

Limitations: Self-report, single-institution study.

Conclusion: Stigmatizing views of persons with psoriasis are prevalent among people in the United States. Educational campaigns for the public and medical trainees may reduce stigma toward persons with psoriasis.

Keywords: attitudes; laypersons; medical education; psoriasis; stigma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Percentage of laypersons and medical students endorsing Desire for Social Distance Scale items. Item endorsement indicates that participants reported that they would be uncomfortable in the specific social situations and/or contexts with the persons with psoriasis featured in the images (*item for tend to avoid is scored such that endorsement indicates that participants tend to avoid the persons featured in the images). *(the 3 participants selected the same rating for all items in all scales).
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Percentage of laypersons and medical students endorsing negative stereotypes of persons with psoriasis.
Fig 3.
Fig 3.
Percentage of laypersons and medical students endorsing myths about persons with psoriasis. *Items were reverse-scored, such that endorsement indicates that participants did NOT endorse these statements (ie, percentages are displayed for participants who believed that psoriasis is NOT physically painful or a serious disease).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. deKorte J, Mombers F, Bos J, Sprangers M. Quality of life in patients with psoriasis: a systematic literature review. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2004;9(2):140–147. - PubMed
    1. Ferreira B, Abreu J, Reis J, Figueiredo A. Psoriasis and associated psychiatric disorders: a systematic review on etiopathogenesis and clinical correlation. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2016;9(6):36–43. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kurd SK, Troxel AB, Crits-Cristoph P, Gelfand JM. The risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in patients with psoriasis: a population-based cohort study. Arch Dermatol. 2010;146(8): 891–895. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vardy D, Besser A, Amir M, Gesthalter B, Biton A, Buskilas D. Experiences of stigmatization play a role in mediating the impact of disease severity on quality of life in psoriasis patients. Br J Dermatol. 2002;147:736–742. - PubMed
    1. Richards H, Fortune D, Griffiths C, Main C. The contribution of perceptions of stigmatisation to disability in patients with psoriasis. J Psychosom Res. 2001;50:11–15. - PubMed